Gov. Matt Blunt said the number of uninsured Missourians could be reduced by nearly one-third under a plan he outlined Tuesday to provide government-subsidized health care to lower-income families.
Read the AP account here.
The plan aims to provide health insurance to 200,000 Missourians over a 15-month period.
The Missouri Budget Project, which has sharply criticized Blunt's cuts the Medicaid program, called Blunt's plan "a good first step."
"There are a lot of details yet to be worked out—and the Legislature must approve and allocated funds for the new program. However, this is an encouraging sign that many of Missouri’s low-income parents who were cut from Medicaid in 2005 could regain access to health care through a state-sponsored program,” said Amy Blouin, Executive Director of the Missouri Budget Project.
Blunt's likely 2008 opponent used the opportunity to highlight the cuts in 2005, and called the Governor's new plan "misguided."
"Under Matt Blunt, Missouri’s health care system has fallen into crisis. We have become one of the worst states in the nation on access to care," Nixon said. “It’s unfortunate that three years later, Governor Blunt is still unable to simply admit he was wrong and restore the cuts. Instead, he has put forward a misguided plan that has already failed in other states. It takes money directly from our poorest families and puts it in the pockets of the HMOs and big insurance companies. At this point, the Governor’s latest health care initiative raises more questions than it answers," Nixon said.
“Restoring the cuts must be step one. Then, once the cuts are restored, we need to have a serious conversation about how to expand health coverage beyond those who lost it under Blunt," he added.
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